A REVOLUTIONARY camera which strips criminals of their disguises will be turned on soccer thugs during the Euro 2000 championships.
The pounds 25,000 Profile camera can penetrates sunglasses, masks and even balaclavas to expose villains' true faces.
A computer then maps the skull digitally by measuring the distance between the ears and eyes.
It then takes just seconds to look for a match on a huge database of known villains.
The camera will allow police officers to track down troublemakers remotely. It could even replace plain-clothes police "spotters" who follow thugs on foot.
The police chief in charge of tackling English hooligans at Euro 2000 confirmed that the camera would play a front-line role in the war on soccer yobs.
Chief Superintendent Eddie Curtis, from Nottinghamshire police, said: "We will be experimenting with the system at the Euro 2000 championships.
"The system could be used anywhere football hooligans gather, including airports and bars. The equipment is very accurate and has a lot of potential in helping police football matches and major tournaments."
Mr Curtis, who oversaw British policing during the 1998 World Cup, has already held talks with security chiefs in Belgium and Holland, where the tournament is being held, about installing the system inside stadiums.
The cameras are mounted on poles or hand-held.
Officials organising Euro 2000 are braced for a surge of violence among hard-core hooligans this summer.
The crunch clash between England and Germany in Belgium on June 17 has been given a "high-risk" rating by police. This week police chiefs from the National Criminal Intelligence Service will meet security chiefs in Amsterdam to discuss the latest moves by organised gangs preparing for violence at the championships.
Home Office officials are also discussing the possibility of introducing the system after a successful trial in the Thames Valley area last year.
During the pilot scheme the computer led directly to 28 convictions for theft.
Detective Chief Inspector John Leicester-Finch, who oversaw the trial, said: "Profile has been a valuable tool in the fight against crime."
The system was developed by Zeda ABM of Nottingham. Gary Wood, the company's managing director, said: "Profile can make a real difference to crime fighting in the UK. It can identify people in disguise or even when they are 30 years older. It is a real breakthrough.
"There is no existing system in the world that does what it can do."
Last season the number of arrests at football matches rose for the first time in six years.
A total of 3,341 spectators were held, up from 3,307 the season before.
The rise sparked fears that thugs were using mobile phones and the Internet to organise clashes with rival fans.
Thugs from Cardiff City and Millwall used the Internet last year to stage a city centre punch-up.
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